Solicitor made personally liable for costs of pursuing vexatious appeal

Court of Appeal - costs of appeal and review application - defendant's appeal had been dismissed - further decision handed down that the review application should be refused - plaintiff contended that the circumstances were such to warrant not only an order that the defendant should pay the costs of both applications on a legal practitioner and client basis but a wasted costs order against the defendant's solicitor on the same basis - appeal was against a procedural order made by the High Court in the course of case managing a motion by the plaintiff to amend the special indorsement of claim on a summary summons and for summary judgment and a cross motion by the defendant to strike out part of the special indorsement of claim - plaintiff submitted that the case was one in which the solicitor had been shown to be guilty of gross negligence by bringing and pursuing an appeal which, if she did not know, ought reasonably to have known was vexatious, wasteful of court time and an abuse of process - appropriate to make a wasted costs order under O.99 of the Rules of the Superior Courts making the defendant's solicitor personally liable for the plaintiff's costs of the appeal, including the costs of the directions hearings, the costs of the aborted hearing, the costs of the review application and the costs of the application - a solicitor who accepted instructions to act for a party assumed a duty to the court not to pursue an appeal which they knew or ought reasonably to have known was vexatious and wasteful of court resources - appeal was misconceived from the outset - plaintiff entitled to an order for payment of its costs in respect of both the appeal and the review application